I'm from Illinois, and this is what Illinois Dept. of Public Health says:

"To be valid, a marriage must be performed by one of the following individuals:

a judge of a court of record or a retired judge of a court of record;a judge of the Court of Claims;the county clerk in counties having 2 million or more inhabitants (Cook County);a public official whose powers include solemnizing marriages; oran officiant performing the marriage in accordance with the principles of any religious denomination, Indian nation or tribe or native group provided that when such principles require an officiant, the officiant be in good standing with his religious denomination, Indian nation or tribe or native group.More than one officiant can perform the marriage. Officiants do not have to reside in Illinois. "

Religious denomination, Indian nation or tribe, it isn't clear however about what they would consider a religion or religious denomination. Would the group have to be registered as a 501c3? I don't know....

May I remind you that I am at the top of my profession, while you preside over the kiddie table of yours

I know this is an old-ish thread, but I come here from one of the more complex states... Taxa-- err, Massachusetts.

I would like to be able to perform wedding ceremonies, but looking at the state laws on the books I'm not entirely sure what that entails. Here's the legal mumbo jumbo:

Section 38. A marriage may be solemnized in any place within the commonwealth by the following persons who are residents of the commonwealth: a duly ordained minister [...], including an ordained deacon [...]; a commissioned cantor or duly ordained rabbi [...]; by a justice of the peace [...]; an authorized representative of [...]; a priest or minister [...]; a minister [...]; a leader of an Ethical Culture Society [...]; the Imam [...]; and, it may be solemnized in a regular or special meeting [...]; and, it may be solemnized by a duly ordained nonresident minister [...]; and, it may be solemnized according to the usage of any other church or religious organization which shall have complied with the provisions of the second paragraph of this section.

Churches and other religious organizations shall file in the office of the state secretary information relating to persons recognized or licensed as aforesaid, and relating to usages of such organizations, in such form and at such times as the secretary may require.

So does this mean I have to register with the state secretary then, to be able to solemnize a marriage (since Pastafarianism isn't explicitly called out in the above list)? I assume that I should also check with the county clerk (Bristol county in my case) to see if there are any additional regulations...

Also of tangential relevance:ch207 s19 (the persons getting married must make notice to the city/town clerk and pay applicable fees)ch207 s20 (more crap for them to submit to the clerk)ch207 s28 (the marrying persons have to give the minister a certificate)ch207 s40 (the minister has to keep and submit records)ch046 s01 (stuff that needs to be recorded by the minister)ch207 s44 (really? get paid 25¢ to officiate?)ch207 s45 (records kept by the minister and/or clerk are prima facie evidence of the validity of the marriage)ch207 s48 (eep! $500 fine if "not duly authorized"?!)ch207 s49 (more fines if the certificates aren't registered properly!)ch207 s56 (more fines if one doesn't maintain the proper records!)

Well, you can either go through the effort of building a church in MA, or you can register with the Universal Life Church, who can give you ordination papers, and then marry as you wish. It's what I do in Nevada.

Yeah, I was looking at ordainment with the ULC; looks like that's the easier path. I still apparently need a letter of good standing from them, and still need to deal with the appropriate bureaucracy (dealing with the marriage certificate, keeping/submitting the records, etc).

I'm guessing that when filling out the records and certificate, I should mark that I am officiating as an ordained minister of the ULC (since that should be recognized by the State of MA), but actually perform the ceremony in proper ( ) Pastafarian style as per the wishes of the couple.